Assessing Mike Gambino and the 2014 baseball season

BC just finished another disappointing Baseball season and yet there doesn't seem to be much talk about the future of Head Coach Mike Gambino. After four seasons the team remains one of the worst in the ACC and failed to qualify for the ACC Tournament. While the showed signs of improvement this season and there is renewed hope about facilities, we have to continue to ask if we have the right staff in place. I am an outside observer so I asked Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily for his opinion. My questions and his answers follow.

1. BC looked better and was more competitive but still had a terrible record. Was the improvement real? 

Foley: The improvement was far from real. They played several of the have-nots this year with NC State being a complete failure while they still ended up losing a series to old friend Mik Aoki’s Notre Dame squad which finished with a 9-21 record.

2. Who or what was the biggest surprise of the season and biggest disappointment? 

Foley: The biggest surprise to me was the development of Chris Shaw into an upper echelon ACC player. He finished the year with a .329 average and a team high six homers which was the same amount that the rest of the team combined for. Shaw was a disaster as a freshman when he hit .165 with six homers and 19 RBI.

The biggest disappointment continues to be the pitching staff which had a 4.27 ERA which is high seeing as about half BC’s games are against weak northern competition in midweek play and on the Spring Trip.

3. Would you fire Gambino? If no, what are the expectations for next year. If yes, who are potential replacements?

Foley: Would I fire Gambino? I don’t know if the school cares enough to actually fire him. I was attending the America East Tournament this week when one of his former players in Anthony Italiano got a key double to lead the Seawolves to a victory. This was a kid that was not good enough to play at BC but has had a solid little career at the Long Island school.

My first phone call would be to Justin Blood at Hartford. He has made that program into a respectable team which plays hard throughout the game. There were trailing a game by nine runs but wouldn’t give up in the ninth inning when they ended up losing only by four. This is the toughness that is missing right now with the BC program.

My second phone call after Blood would be to Steve Owens at Bryant. He made the NCAA tournament last year for the Smithfield RI school and had a successful run at Lemoyne before heading to the Bulldogs. Lemoyne would be an absolute pain back in the day for schools and Bryant is becoming a new Lemoyne.

Guest Blogger: Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily

My challenge with commenting on BC baseball is perspective. I know a little about BC baseball but not much about college baseball in general. The record and the stats show that BC is terrible, but I wanted a more informed opinion. You can't get more informed than Brian Foley. He's a BC grad and the editor and founder of College Baseball Daily. My questions and his answers follow.


1. When we last did this, you thought Gambino would get another year. Do you still feel that way? 

Brian Foley: The last time we did this was before the team started playing up north against some of the mid-week opponents. I thought that maybe the team would have to get used to playing outdoors and the underclassmen that were playing would come around. After starting to play up North (March 26th), they went 5-6 in games. Is that respectable? Not for an ACC team. BC went 8-15 OOC with an extremely weak OOC schedule with losses to Ohio (14-39) and UMass (14-31).

 2. As I mentioned over the weekend, we cannot build a new field in one year. You can't turn the roster. You can't change the weather. What are some immediate things BC can do to improve the baseball program? 

Brian Foley: You can't build a field in one year? I know there is an athletic department in Providence that played an entire season in an arena that was getting construction done on it and the renovations will be done in time to start the season in October. BC "could" build a field in a year but the extra stuff wouldn't be able to be done. But the main issue is, how long can a coach continue to lie to his players that they are getting a new stadium. Tony Sanchez was told he would be playing on the new field and ground was never broken and still isn't.

3. This season was a mess, but did anything give you hope or optimism? 

Brian Foley: Andrew Chin is the only positive but he only has one more season left at BC since he is going to be a draft eligible redshirt sophomore and wouldn't have been at BC if he didn't have Tommy John surgery near the end of his senior year.

4. If BC makes a change, when will it happen and who are some potential replacements?

Brian Foley: If BC makes a change, it needs to happen right now. Cincinnati let go Brian Cleary last Thursday and David Perno was let go on Sunday by Georgia. The longer they wait, the less likely they are going to get a legit candidate with head coaching experience.

Here is my top five
1. Rob Cooper (Wright State)
2. Jim Foster (Rhode Island)
3. Jayson King (Franklin Pierce)
4. Joe Sottalano (Army)- No chance he ever leaves Army...continues to win there.
5. Dave Perno (Former Georgia Coach)- No chance in the monetary range though as he made 450k last season and is due that for the 2014 season.

Digging into the BC Baseball team's issues

By any measure the BC baseball team is having a rough start. It wasn't supposed to be this way. To get a handle on what is going wrong I asked Brian from College Baseball Daily some questions. His answers are below.

1. The season got off to a terrible start. They've even had a rough time with the baseball equivalent of mid-majors. What's gone wrong?

Brian Foley: Everything possible without major injuries. The Eagles can't pitch or hit. They are currently ranked 279th in team ERA at 7.07 with the nearest team in the conference 2.6 runs ahead of them. They are ranked 288th in team batting average at .212. There is ONLY 296 Division 1 college baseball teams so it isn't like they can get much worse.

2. After last season you said BC would have a winning year this season. Can they rebound and have a respectable finish?


Brian Foley:  If Boston College wins more then five games in the ACC this season, I would be stunned. This team is a mess right now with no pro prospects besides Tommy Bourdon.

3. The team is young. What are your early impressions of the freshmen?


Brian Foley: They haven't lived up to expectations at all. Chris Shaw right now has been a disaster as he has started 17 out of 18 games while hitting now .123 heading into this weekend. He was the second best prospect in the Futures League this past summer and hasn't lived up to his billing at all.

4. I have no idea where baseball is on Brad Bates' radar, but at what point does Gambino get put on the hotseat? Does his relationship with DeFilippo impact his status positively or negatively in any way?


Brian Foley: I think Gambino will get another chance after this season then the seat will get warm. There is some major issues at Boston College with the baseball team but they have all the scholarships possible but they don't have a paid second assistant coach. Of course, the facility is an absolute joke!

Q&A with Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily

While I've expressed my disappointment in this season's BC baseball team, my perspective is more emotional and uninformed. To get a better feel for what happened and what expectations should have been, I asked Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily about the team and its future. Because he focuses on college baseball and is a BC grad, I think Brian holds a unique perspective on our team. My questions and his answers are below.

1. BC just completed another losing season. Although expectations weren't high, did you expect the team to be more competitive? Losing to some mediocre northern schools surprised me as did the inconsistency in ACC play.

Brian Foley: I expected Boston College to win eight ACC games this year and finish last in the conference based on the talent level in the lineup and on the mound. The losing to the "Northern" programs is due to the fact that the pitching was still not up to ACC caliber on the weekends which pushed guys that are "midweek" guys into pitching in conference matchups. They need to get stronger on the bump.

2. Seven players graduate. Who will be the biggest hole to fill?

Brian Foley: Melchionda is the biggest hole to fill in the lineup. He played a solid shortstop defensively but was extremely limited in his range so they will get better on defense with whoever takes over at short.

3. How do you feel about Gambino's recruiting so far?

Brian Foley: Gambino is known for being a diehard recruiter and next season's incoming freshman class is loaded with impact bats including Lexington MA third baseman/RHP Christopher Shaw and Fullerton, CA catcher Stephen Sauter to name a few.

4. What should our expectations be for next season? When will BC have a winning season again?

Brian Foley: The expectations for next season are to compete for an NCAA Regional spot if they freshman come in and make an impact. BC will have a winning season next year and be a bubble team. I put my word on it. This will be Gambino's first season with HIS recruits.